Princess Tutu Season Two
by VirtualOranges
Summary: And we start from where we left off. But things have changed, and will continue to change drastically. Who is the one who is suffering most? Ahiru? Fakir? Or is it...
1. Prologue

_**Disclaimer:**_I do not own Princess Tutu. Thank goodness! If I did, there would be a helluvalotta changes around there!

Please let me know how I can improve my writing! Any good suggestions and tips would be thoroughly welcome, and I will definitely consider them, but most of my story has already been written. But please, and I'm begging, I would love some advice on my writing. Also, please forgive any misspellings or wrong phrasing. I'm afraid to say, I'm still in my learner stage.

**Warning: These series I have written are spoilers for the original Princess Tutu series. If you have not watched the anime, please do so before you read my story in order to better understand the course of events and characters. I also recommend that you buy the DVD and not illegally download it off the internet. The creators need it! ;) **

Many thanks.

* * *

_**Prologue**_

"Hello Fakir"  
Fakir looked up and gazed into a pair of large blue eyes. "Ahiru," he whispered. "You're a girl again"  
Ahiru rotated her hands above her head, then extended a tender palm to him. "Shall we dance?" she asked.

Fakir's mind was swimming with questions. Eagerly, he stepped forward and took her hand. In that instant that their hands grasped, the floor, the walls, the ceiling - all instantly vanished, and were replaced by a black room. Though everything else was dark, Fakir could see Ahiru clearly. To him, nothing existed except for her, and they began the first steps of the dance automatically, as if they had been doing it their whole life.

Neither spoke all the while they danced the pas de deux. It was as if they did not even notice that they were dancing and performing twirls and leaps that normal ballet dancers struggled at. Fakir did not feel tired at all; just happy. And Ahiru? He didn't know. He wanted to ask her how she had become a girl again, but his lips couldn't move. To his horror, he found he couldn't open his mouth or make a sound at all, but Ahiru didn't notice; they danced on and on. Her blue eyes stared ahead of her as if he wasn't even there. Suddenly they turned into expressionless black. Her hair was black, as if made from raven feathers…

Fakir sat bolt straight in bed and threw off the sheets. He was sweating all over, and found that he was screaming at the top of his lungs. Fakir got up, quickly dressed, and pulled on a jacket. _I wish she could become human again._ He shuddered, thinking about the part in his dream where he had seen her expressionless eyes. _But not like that._

Fakir knelt down on the small jetty that went out to the lake. His feet had taken him to his favourite and only haunt without him even realizing it. Fakir's eyes searched the lake, but didn't see Ahiru anywhere. Where did she sleep at night? His heart began to beat faster, as he ran the length of the lake silently, afraid to wake her if she was sleeping. He just wanted to see that she was alright, then he would be happy. Finally, not finding her visible, he shouted her name softly. At last there was a quiet quacking noise in return, and the small duck paddled to the platform where he again knelt.

"Ahiru!" he exclaimed in low tones so as to not disturb the silence too much. "I'm sorry. I had a bad dream, and wanted to make sure you were…" he trailed off and lifted the duck onto his lap. For some time he talked to her, but then after a while she fell asleep, and he fell to brooding silently.

Fakir's eyes watched her chest rise and fall as she breathed, and he remembered his dream. How wonderful it would be to see her in person again, and be able to understand her words. While she was a duck, it was frustrating for him. She had always been there to help him and understand his feelings before, but now that she had given Mytho his last piece of heart, she was a duck again, and though she could understand his words, she couldn't say anything back. _Sometimes I wish she had never given Mytho the last piece of his heart back. I'm sure he could have rescued Rue on his own. Now, come to think of it, what he did was extremely hurtful and rude._ Fakir's anger had reached a high level, and everything he thought about only triggered it more. _What sort of a person would demand for the last piece of his heart in order to save a princess, when the one he was demanding the item from loved him, and was giving everything to him so willingly? Doesn't Mytho feel guilty that he has ruined Princess Tutu's hope and feelings? But what does Ahiru think, really? What is going on in that little brain of hers?_

Fakir sighed. He was being selfish, but he couldn't help it. He truly wished he had not persuaded her to give the last piece of the heart back. He himself felt a large amount of responsibility for what had happened, and it made his own heart painful every day of the week. Fakir looked down at the sleeping Ahiru. He was surprised to notice that her wing had a small gray patch of hair on it. Was she growing old?_No! She can't!_ his mind pushed the thought away, but it came back stronger than ever.**_ How long do ducks live?_**

Suddenly Fakir gasped; she wasn't breathing. He prodded her, and found her to be hard as rock. "Ahiru!" he cried out, but a voice behind him made him freeze, and sent his hair up on end.

"Well, well, well. Doing a bit of brooding and reflecting on the past? Don't worry about your little duckling. She's just frozen in time for a little while. I wonder…would you prefer her to be frozen in time and not grow old, or have her live the rest of her few months out, paddling on the lake?"

Fakir angrily turned around and faced the man whom he immediately recognized.

"Aotoa?"

* * *

I hope that was an enjoyable prelude! 

Stay tuned for the next episode ;)


	2. Act 1

_**Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Princess Tutu. It's more fun to watch it.

**I'm open to all suggestions, comments.  
**

* * *

_So where were things last time? After Mytho had defeated the monster raven and Fakir had destroyed Drosselmeyer's story-making machine, Mytho and Rue had set off to begin their own story separate from the others. Fakir remained with Ahiru, and as he promised, he was always by her side. During the long evenings, he would relax on the jetty that extended out on the lake, and enjoy the sunsets with her. Though she was a duck, Ahiru could not mix with the other ducks, and was seen as an outsider. Her own consciousness was that of a girl's, and she wondered whether she was really meant to be a duck or a girl._

_Things in Kinkan town returned to normal, and everyone forgot about the little girl once named Ahiru. Her two friends Pique and Lillie went on with their lives, and the ballet teacher Neko Sensei returned to being a cat. His replacement was a human replica of himself; a man named Nero, who acted almost the same as Neko. His favourite books were: How to Marry the Girl In Thirty Days, Marriage for Dummies, Preventing the Runaway Ballet Bride, and Passing Through the Love Arch. The story of The Prince and the Raven went back to being a plain fairytale told to children._

_Fakir was never quite the same after Ahiru's transformation. When he had danced that last pas de deux with her in the lake of despair, he had thought it would be alright when she was a duck. But once she had returned to her animal form, he found he missed the quacky girl even more, and he couldn't quite forgive himself for persuading her to save Mytho._

"Hello," said Aotoa, and his lips smiled, but his eyes were cold.

"Why are you here?" Fakir laid Ahiru gently on the wooden jetty and stood up to face Aotoa.

Aotoa's smile turned into half a smirk. "I wondered if it would be entertaining to watch Ahiru die in such a short time. Drosselmeyer's turning her into a duck cost her quite a bit of her duck life. Therefore, though she looks like a duckling, she is actually quite close to dieing of old age. It would be quite a bit of grief for you. But I, unlike Drosselmeyer, wish not for just simple tragedy"

"What do you mean?!" shouted Fakir, his eyes narrowing with anger.

"I prefer my plans detailed and works of art." Aotoa examined his fingernails smugly, and paused before replying. "You're a weakling. Though you were chosen by the tree…" he seethed with hatred at the remembrance, but then calmed down, "you cannot even write a single story. I…I have spent all this time in solitude, diligently training myself to get his power. But I don't have Drosselmeyer's dream. No, that man was pathetic…his little masquerade was ridiculous. He didn't have the guts-" Aotoa's eyes widened, and he shut his mouth quickly, as if he had said too much.

"So that's what it is. You hate me for being chosen."

"NO! That is NOT it. I hate your very existence. You are…" Aotoa gave Fakir a dagger look, and turned his back to him. "We will have a nice little chat later. Enjoy your little gift of happiness while it lasts"

"What do you mean, you little..."

No answer. Behind Aotoa, a door opened emitting a blue light, which he stepped into. With one swish of his large red cape, he disappeared.

Suddenly it struck Fakir. _He was dressed like Drosselmeyer. The cape…the clothes…Could it be…? And he froze everything except for me. How can this be?! Has he…_"Damn that jerk," he muttered and turned his attention back to Ahiru. She was breathing again, and still asleep. Immediately his heart softened again, and Fakir carefully lifted her and cradled her in the warmth of his arms. _Such a tiny helpless being__…_

---

Ahiru opened her eyes. Everything was blur and fuzzy. She rubbed her eyes and sat up. _Wait…I rubbed my eyes?!_ Ahiru looked down and saw that she had hands_…_legs_…_feet! She jumped up in surprise, and noticed that she had been lying on the sleeping fakir's lap. "Quuuaa-!" she screamed in fright, and clamped her mouth shut with her hand. "What happened?" she whispered to herself. "How did I become a girl again? I can talk! Why was I on Fakir's lap?" She looked from side to side, wondering where she could get clothes. There wasn't anything made from fabric nearby available to her, so she jumped into a bush and called to Fakir.

"Huh? Ahiru?" he mumbled sleepily, and looked down to his arms. Then he looked to the lake.

"Fakir!"

"Who's there?" he said sharply, and looked to where the voice was coming from. "Ahiru?!" he shouted in disbelief, staring at the head with orange hair and blue eyes. "Is this a dream?"

"No!" Ahiru frowned. "I hope not," she added.

"How did you-"

"Get me something to wear first!" she said. "And that's what I want to know. How did I become a girl? And why was I on your lap?"

"You were a duck the last I saw," he muttered, and threw her his cloak. "There. I'll give you something to wear at Charon's house. Rachael left some of her clothes there from her last visit."

Ahiru wrapped herself in the cloak, and stepped out of the bush. "How on earth did I_…_And I don't even have the necklace anymore," she said to herself.

As they walked to Charon's house, Fakir was lost in thought. Did Aotoa have something to do with this? Was he the new Drosselmeyer? "Aotoa visited me last night while you were asleep," he said quietly. Then he told Ahiru everything Aotoa had said.

"It's weird," she said. "Do you think that by saying 'enjoy your little gift while it lasts' meant me turning back into a girl? But I don't like the 'while it lasts' part."

"I'm just happy you're back to being a human," he said, and his eyes softened.

"I know. I felt so uncomfortable being a duck. Sometimes I had a hard time to even float."

"Moron! You can't do anything, can you?" the softness disappeared from Fakir's face in an instant. He opened the door to Charon's house, and they both entered the dark kitchen. As Ahiru went to Rachael's room to see what she could wear, Fakir put a pot of soup on the stove. _Does this mean we'll be having another story mess up on our hands? _he wondered, and buried his face in his hands as he sat at the table. _The monster raven can't come back...can he?_

Meanwhile, in Rachael's room, Ahiru slipped on a plain dress. "These are kind of large," she said doubtfully looking in the mirror and staring at the crumpled front of the dress. "I can't really fit it very well…" she pulled a face at her reflection. "Oh well…it's only for tonight. Tomorrow I can…" she paused and sighed. "Tomorrow…will I be able to go back to Kinkan Academy? Will Pique and Lillie remember me when they see me?" Ahiru put the other dresses away and entered the kitchen. It was still dark outside, and Fakir was sitting at the table, staring at a knot of wood on the its surface. He looked very tired and confused. When she entered, he looked up and smiled.

"I'm so glad you're a girl again…" for a split second, his dream flashed back to him. "But I can't understand what is happening now…Aotoa…" he trailed off.

"You should sleep," she said, and took the pot of over-boiling soup off the stove for him. "Are you hungry"

"No, that's for you"

"Oh." she ladled herself a bowl of soup, and quickly gulped it down.

Fakir's eyes bulged at the empty bowl. "Idiot…you can't just gulp it down like that! It won't digest properly! Anyway, I'm going to sleep. Tomorrow you will go back to your dorm. Good night." He got up and left.

Ahiru sighed, and got another bowl of soup. "I think I preferred the way he talked and acted while I was a duck," she muttered. Soon, she too felt drowsy, and let herself fall asleep where she was.

---

When Fakir woke up in the morning, the school bell had rung long before. He walked into the kitchen to see Ahiru slumped on the table with her head in a half eaten bowl of soup. "Ahiru?!" he exclaimed, and lifted her head out. "Still breathing," he muttered. "What a troublesome idiot."

"I heard that!" she shouted, opening her eyes. "Honestly, you use the word 'idiot too' many times."

Fakir didn't reply, but started out the door for Kinkan academy. He was already cross at waking up late.

Ahiru watched him go with unease, then changed and washed her face. "I wonder if I will change into a duck if I quack," she said to herself. Then she tested it very loudly. "Quack!" Nothing happened. "Am I a girl forever?!" she wondered in disbelief.

Ahiru wondered aloud as she hurried to class, "I wonder if things will go back to being the same, except that Rue-chan and Mytho aren't here."

When she got there breathless, she found she had been registered already, and nobody knew by who. The lady behind the registration desk, scowled at Ahiru. "Your times table!" she said in a loud voice that demanded respect, handing Ahiru a card with her schedule on it. "Ballet lessons room, number 26"

Ahiru remembered the room, bowed and ran into class.

"AHIRU-SAN!"

Ahiru trembled and looked up. It was a man teacher! A real man! She was so surprised, she kept staring.

"Ahiru-san"

"Yes! Sorry," she replied submissively. Who was this guy?

"He's Nero-sensei," whispered Fakir who was passing by.

"You're late!" shouted Nero-sensei disapprovingly. "Thankfully, Fakir-san has informed me that there was a new student in Kinkan academy, who happens to be you. I won't let you off next time though!" Neko scratched his head. "Let us continue. As I was saying, we will be involved in a famous play called The Prince and the Raven. As planned, Fakir-san will play as the prince, Andria-san will play as Princess Tutu, Kumi-san will play as Princess Kraehe, and Femio-sama will play as the knight"

Ahiru turned her head to Femio, who was leaning against the wall, holding a rose. "Oh, what sin has fallen upon me! Unfortunately, I am the best of them all, so I had to be chosen as the lead character-" he said in a dignified voice.

"Let us begin practicing," interrupted Nero-sensei, who wasn't pleased at all at having Femio in the play.

Ahiru sat amongst the other students as she watched the ones participating in the play practicing their parts. Finally they came to the part where Princess Tutu was supposed to dance with the prince. Andria and Fakir took each other's hands and began to dance._ Andria looks so nervous.__ But Fakir looks as cross as usual. He really doesn't seem to have changed at all_, thought Ahiru, hugging her knees. Suddenly Andria's legs gave way, and she crashed to the ground.

"No!" yelled Nero-sensei. "Your ballet is horrible! I bet even this new girl Ahiru-san could do better than you, Andria-san!"  
Andria got to her feet and trembled. "It's so hard!" she shouted. "How can you say that a girl who has never done ballet in her life would do better than me?! Prove it!" she shouted, pleased that Nero-sensei looked stunned.

In a few minutes, Ahiru was dressed in a Princess Tutu costume, and was walking over to Fakir. She didn't know what to say to these people she hadn't seen in six months, so she didn't refuse at demonstrating for them. She only hoped that she wouldn't embarrass herself too much in front of the class on her first day.

"Shall we dance?" she said, smiling at Fakir. He smiled back. "Start the music!" yelled Nero-sensei. Ahiru and Fakir began the pas de deux. They both became so wrapped up in dancing that they forgot they had a whole classroom watching them. 

Whoever thought that I would be dancing with a duck? thought Fakir.  
_  
My first dance in six months…I feel as though the dance with Fakir in the lake of Despair was just yesterday_, Ahiru thought.

Finally the music ended, and came the part for Princess Tutu to run away from the prince. Ahiru curtseyed, and started to run away, but Fakir grabbed her arm and pulled her into a kiss. The whole room simply broke into chaos. All Ahiru could remember was Nero-sensei shrieking with disbelief and disapproval, and Lillie and Pique shouting, "That isn't Fakir! He's an intruder! What have you done with Fakir?!" before she fainted from shock.

_---_

_Huh? Where am I?_ Ahiru's eyes fluttered open, revealing tree branches with bits of blue sky in between. She was lying on cool grass, and a gentle breeze was blowing pleasing flower scents in her direction. _Was it all a dream? Am I still a duck?_ She lifted her hand and looked at it. _I'm human!_ she sat up and looked around. A little further away from her, Fakir sat leaning against a tree, reading a book. _Fakir!_

As if he could read her thoughts, Fakir snapped his book shut and looked towards her. "Hey," he said. His face rarely gave away his emotions, and Ahiru wished he wouldn't have such a stern face all the time. "You're awake"

"Eh? What am I doing here?" she asked, looking around. They were by the lake, and Kinkan academy was a fair distance away. _The pas de deux…Nero-sensei…was it all a dream?_

Fakir didn't reply. Instead, he got up. "I have to pay a visit to the library. Don't be late for class tomorrow, or Nero-sensei will be extremely mad"

Ahiru watched him walk away. She blushed at the memory of Fakir's kiss. _Was it a dream? And why would he kiss me? Even if it was my dream, why would I dream of Fakir kissing me…? I love Mytho. She felt a sharp pain in her heart at the remembrance of his name. He's with Rue-chan now. I hope they're both happy together…_Ahiru looked up and saw the sun was beginning to set, so she got up and made for the girls' dormitory. She still had the same room as before, and felt happy to be back in her soft bed. Just before she drifted off to sleep, she wondered one last time, _did Fakir really kiss me?_

* * *

Stay tuned for Act 2! Arigato! Comments appreciated. 

It took me a couple of times to finally decide this chapter was okay to publish. Hopefully it wasn't a disappointment to you!

Gahhh...I can't believe I didn't fully check it after I published this chapter for like the hundredth time...I was so surprised to find so many mistakes! SO sorry...


	3. Act 2

**_Disclaimer:_** I do not own Princess Tutu. Whoever thought that such a masterpiece as this would be my work? Oh well...It COULD be possible...nah.

**Suggestions and comments are welcome. Feel free to chastise my writing, since I'm pretty new to this.**

* * *

The school bell. 

Ahiru leaped out of bed, opened the window and hurriedly dressed for school as a huge flock of birds rushed in to get at the birdfeed she had set out in a bowl. She grabbed her bag and rushed to Kinkan academy. It was still very early, and as she ran, Ahiru glanced at the clock tower. "6AM?" she muttered, half asleep. "Well at least I won't be late. Nevertheless, Ahiru dashed up the stairs and into the lesson room

"Ahiru-san."

Ahiru froze. "Y-yes?" she stuttered

"You're on time." Nero-sensei shook his head and clutched at his hair in a burst of disbelief, then took out a handkerchief to wipe away his sweaty forehead  
"What? I thought it was six in the morning," she blurted"We're having practice early today." Then suddenly his face turned into one of anger, and his hair stood on end. "DIDN'T ANYONE TELL YOU THAT?" "No."  
"YOU MEAN YOU CAME TO CLASS EARLY BY YOURSELF?!"  
"Yes."

Nero-sensei began letting out a short stream of words of disbelief so fast that no one could understand them at all. When he finished his little tantrum, he began to pace around the room. "So as I was saying, after seeing Ahiru's wonderful demonstration yesterday, she will be playing Princess Tutu's part for the meantime. If she continues to do wonderfully, I will place her in the special class." There came a burst of excitement from some of the class, and some squeals of disappointment. "Now let us continue.

For the rest of the day, they practiced the basics, for, as Nero-sensei always said, "The basics matter the most."

Ahiru was completely clueless. _Did I just imagine that he kissed me, or was it all real?!_ was all she could think of for the rest of the day. In the end she decided that she had dreamt it up. After all, it would be a miracle if Fakir ever did a thing like that. Still, she felt her cheeks grow warm at the thought of it.

After class, Pique and Lillie grabbed her arm and brought her outside. "You danced so well yesterday!" cried Lillie, hearts appearing in her eyes

"How long have you known Fakir?!" demanded Pique. "We've never seen you in town before! Where did you meet him?!"  
"You're so lucky!" they both sighed.  
"Lucky?" asked Ahiru, looking puzzled.  
"He kissed you yesterday!" cried Lillie.  
"He…" Ahiru stared at her. _It wasn't a dream?_ Suddenly both Pique and Lillie froze at the sight of something behind Ahiru, then ran away.

"Bonjour, mademoiselle," said a voice behind Ahiru. She turned around with deep regret, took one look at Femio with the rose in his hand, then took off in the same direction as the other girls. Once she had gotten far away enough, she stopped behind a tree by the lake to rest. "I hope he doesn't come looking for me," she panted. Someone was approaching her on the other side of the tree.Ahiru peered around the tree and nearly bumped into that someone. "So sorry!" she cried, bowing.

"Sometimes I wonder if you even use those pair of eyes you have," said a familiar voice.

Ahiru scowled. _Fakir! I can't believe that he did what he did yesterday! He's so mean and not changed at all!_ But when she looked up, Fakir was smiling. _Smiling? What did I do now?_

"Dance with me, Ahiru," he said. "Since Aotoa said to enjoy it while we can."  
"Fakir? Are you feeling alright?" she asked, blinking up at him.  
"Don't be an idiot," came the reply before he snatched her hand and began to dance with her.

They twirled around and around on the bank of the lake while the sun was setting. Just as the last few rays of sunshine were glimmering on the lake's surface and the fiery orb was slipping down behind the horizon, there was a loud rustling all around the forest, and small men dressed in black robes began to emerge from their hiding places. Fakir and Ahiru immediately stopped dancing, and looked around.

"We meet again," said an old man, throwing back his hood. All of the other men looked like him, and they all carried weapons. "We have come to chop your head off, Fakir," the old man continued, "since you violated your promise, and we noticed that you have been tampering with your power of writing again."

"What?! I haven't!" cried Fakir.

"You are the only person we know of who has this power. Of course it would be you, if the stories start spinning again." They began to move forward towards the protesting Fakir.

"Stop!" cried Ahiru. "I know he hasn't been writing stories! I think it must have been Aotoa!"

The old men paused. "What is this? Is there another person who knows the-"  
"Yes, he taught Fakir," interrupted Ahiru impatiently. "He paid a visit to Fakir last time, and was wearing a red cape just like Drosselmeyer's. I think he's taken on Drosselmeyer's role. Why don't you look for him?"  
"Good, this is good information," said the old man, scratching his chin. "But now we will have to chop both of your heads off for knowing it." They stepped closer. Suddenly the ground shook, and a tremendous rumbling could be heard. Swerving around the corner, charged a large bull with Femio hanging on its horns for dear life. "Olé!" he cried, as the bull threw him to the ground and rammed into some of the old men. They yelled with terror and ran back into the forest with the bull chasing them.

"Femio!" exclaimed Ahiru.  
"Bonjour," he said, smoothing back his hair. "I shall save you from these monsters! Step away from her, you beast!" he yelled, pointing at Fakir.  
"Huh?" Fakir didn't budge. "What are you talking about?"  
"Fakir's my friend," said Ahiru.  
"Oh no! He has made you believe such a thing! How could he do something so terrible! This man…is a villain!"

Ahiru pulled Fakir away, and they both escaped from Femio before he could do anything else ridiculous. "The weird men came again," she groaned.

Fakir was silent for a second, thinking about it. "That means that the stories have begun again. I wonder where Drosselmeyer has gone, and Uzura, too."  
"What is happening?"  
"My guess is that Aotoa made you a girl again to serve some sort of purpose. He said something about Drosselmeyer's dreams being pathetic, which means he must have even worse plans." Fakir clapped his hand to his head. "I don't know.  
"I can't become Princess Tutu anymore, either, so I can't really do anything," said Ahiru.  
"It'll be alright. Go home. We'll figure it out tomorrow." Fakir turned and began to walk towards his dorm.

"Fakir!" shouted Ahiru.

He turned around. "What?"

"…Nothing."

For a minute, she could have sworn that a scowl flickered across his face, but quick as lightning it disappeared, and he continued walking.

The thick evening fog was beginning to settle down as Ahiru walked through town. She didn't really know why she was taking her little walk, but she wanted to think about what had happened recently. For a while, she skipped along, enjoying her human girl body, but soon she slowed down as she was immersed in deep thought. Ahiru was so engrossed in daydreaming, that she didn't even notice as the fog swirled around her and opened in a large circle, so that she was within a circular area that was clear from fog. All around the invisible barrier, the fog was thick.

Suddenly, someone in a black dress appeared in front of Ahiru.

* * *

Stay tuned for Act 3!  
Oh well, I guess it was a bit short compared to Act 1, but I wanted it to end on a cliff hanger. Anyway, the author is entitled to make the chapters any length he/she wants right? _Right?!_ C'mon guys, you agree with me right:s 


	4. Act 3

**_Disclaimer:_** I do not own Princess Tutu. I SO wish I do, though!

_**Eeeeek...so sorry, guys! I had to delete a few chapters because I saw how many horrible mistakes were in Act 1...and I can't tolerate having mistakes. I should have checked that chapter properly when I put it up. I hate these Edit/Preview things in FanFiction...They often delete my punctuation marks, and don't arrange the paragraphs. In short: they delete a bunch of stuff from the original document.**_

Btw, it might seem a little OOC, but I will try to bring their original personalities into play. But if you will recall, Fakir did seem like his heart had melted quite a bit towards Ahiru at the end of the Princess Tutu series.

Oh, and another thing - I'm still steering the beginning of the story into its proper place, so don't get too impatient. There are plenty more chapters on the way. Now if only my readers would be so kind so as to...review! -evil laugh-

* * *

As Ahiru looked up, what she saw shocked her. A girl in a black tutu was standing some ways in front of her, dressed almost like Kraehe had a long time ago, except that her tutu's top design was slightly different. Her black and curly hair was tied up. Around her head was a silver circlet, and she wore a black velvet choker with a blood-red ruby in the middle of it. This girl was beautiful, and had pretty purple eyes and silky black ballet shoes. 

"Kraehe?" whispered Ahiru.

The girl laughed. "I am Princess Lucille. Hello, Ahiru."

It took Ahiru a minute to realize what was going on. "What's happening?!" she said. "Why are you here? Who are you?"

Princess Lucille looked at her with a raised eyebrow. She didn't seem the least comfortable though she was standing in what looked a very uncomfortable and hard to perform ballet pose.

"I am the daughter of the Monster Raven. Do you not know?" she laughed haughtily.

"Isn't he dead now?"

"Yes. Prince Mytho defeated him forever," came the cold reply.

"Then what are you doing here? How are you the monster raven's daughter?" Ahiru asked.

"The monster raven let me drink of the last of his blood shortly before he was defeated, knowing that his daughter Kraehe would be a total failure. So I was given the honor of replacing her."

"Why?"

Lucille only giggled in her cruel and harsh voice. Suddenly Ahiru found herself surrounded ravens. "Fakir!" she yelled desperately. Then just as soon as Princess Lucille had made the ravens appear, she waved them off with a smirk.

---

Fakir had been about to enter his dormitory when he heard the scream. "Ahiru?" he exclaimed, and fearing the worst, he dropped all his books, began to run towards the sound. Within a couple of minutes, he reached the town square and ran straight through the fog into the center. "Ahiru!" he yelled.

"You run slow," said a cold voice that sent shivers up and down Fakir's spine.

"Ahiru?"

"Wrong. I am Princess Lucille."

For a minute, a vision of Ahiru as a girl with black expressionless eyes from his dream flashed back to Fakir, but just then he found the circle that Lucille had cleared of fog. He gasped. Ahiru was unconscious on the ground, and Princess Lucille was sitting on a little cloud of flapping ravens in the air.

"Like my throne? I am the queen now that father's gone," she cackled, stretching her hand out and looking at her long shiny fingernails.

"Who are you?!" he shouted.

"Oh dear. Looks like I'm going to have to explain again. I am the daughter of the monster raven. He gave me his blood to drink before he died, thinking that I would succeed his useless daughter Kraehe. So I am simply going to avenge him by destroying Kinkan town. Happy?" she gave a small yawn.

Fakir glared at her and ran to Ahiru. "Ahiru? Wake up!"

"Forget it. She won't wake up for another hour. So you're the handsome yet useless knight who couldn't even die," said Princess Lucille. She paused, enjoying the fact that Fakir couldn't answer. "Well, I know that you can make the stories you write come to life. So I will freeze you for a little while for my enjoyment."

Princess Lucille now raised her slender hand towards Fakir and quickly let out a little breath which sent tiny red crystals flying towards him. Next thing he knew, he was trapped in a red crystal where he couldn't move or even blink. All Fakir could do was stare at whatever was in front of him.

_This isn't good, _he thought. _How will I save Ahiru now? She isn't Princess Tutu anymore._

"Relax," Princess Lucille giggled, as she walked forward to trail one finger across the surface of the red crystal. "I'm not doing anything to your little girlfriend just yet. She's helpless anyway." Then Lucille vanished in a whirlwind of raven feathers.

---

"Mmhmm…" Ahiru's eyes flickered open. "Nighttime?" She felt cold stone underneath her body. As she sat up and looked around, her memory came flooding back. "Fakir!" she cried, seeing him trapped in the red crystal. "Oh no! How do I get you out?!" But all Fakir could do was stare at her through his prison.

"Wait here!" she said stupidly.

Ahiru ran around in circles, looking for something to break the red glass with. Finally she spotted a large hammer, and quickly dragged it to Fakir. "It won't break!" she gasped, after she had tried to smash it against the crystal as hard as she could. "Princess Lucille! Release him!" Ahiru yelled. Seeing that Lucille was nowhere within earshot, Ahiru tried again and again to smash the crystal, but each time the hammer hit its surface, the hammer just slid or bounced clean off.

"How do I free him?!"

Ahiru began to grow desperate. She did anything she could. She poured water on the red crystal, she hammered at it with her fists, she even asked it out loud to please break. Each time, the crystal remained the same. Finally she threw herself on the ground in front of it, crying with all her might.

"Ahiru-chan!" said a spooky yet familiar voice. Ahiru looked up to see Drosselmeyer standing in front of her with Uzura by his side.

"Drosselmeyer?" she said in disbelief. "Is this all your doing?!"

"No, no," he shook his head. "There's a young idiot messing around with my powers! He wasn't supposed to have them. I won't forgive him for calling me pathetic!" Drosselmeyer sighed. "You must stop him, Ahiru-chan! I don't want my reputation messed up. You want to help Fakir, right?" he gave a short wheezing chuckle. "Interesting story though," he muttered so quietly that she couldn't hear him.

Ahiru nodded. "I want to save Fakir!"

"Turn into Princess Tutu."

"I can't! I don't have the last piece of the Prince's heart anymore."

Drosselmeyer chuckled. "You don't need it. With the necklace there, it simply helped you believe that you had a mission to do with the powers of Princess Tutu. Everyone has a powerful other-self within them, but not everyone can realize it and bring it out. If you really want to save the knight, then you should be able to turn into Princess Tutu." Drosselmeyer grinned at her. "I'm counting on you, Ahiru-chan!" With that, he stepped back into the loophole in time, leaving a confused Uzura behind.

"Wait! How-" began Ahiru, but Drosselmeyer had already gone.

"Wow! What happened to Fakir-zura?"

Ahiru turned to see Uzura pressed against the red glass, looking up at Fakir. "Why is he in glass-zura?"

"Uzura," Ahiru said, trying to blink back her tears. "Go back to Fakir's home. We'll be home soon too." _Why did he leave Uzura here?_ she wondered.

"Alright-zura!"

Only when Uzura left, did Ahiru let her tears flow, and she wept for some time. Finally she stood up and gathered her courage. "I must turn into Princess Tutu to save Fakir!" she cried. "I must!"

_I must remember_, she thought. _How it was to transform into Princess Tutu. I must remember for Fakir's sake._ Ahiru concentrated on thinking about her transformation and the feeling it gave her. At the same time she recalled the memory, she felt as if she really was transforming. She opened her eyes and gasped as she examined herself. "I managed it! It wasn't so hard!"

She was dressed in Princess Tutu's outfit, but there was a difference. Whenever she had turned into Princess Tutu for the prince, she felt like she was entering a different person's body and mind, and only able to preserve her thoughts for Ahiru's mind later on, but her actions were those of Princess Tutu's. But now, she felt as if she was actually Ahiru, just in Princess Tutu's outfit with tied up hair and ballet shoes. There was one little problem, though; she wondered if she could still dance as well.

"Fakir," she whispered, stepping forward. "I will save you no matter what!"

Slowly, Ahiru began to dance. She danced sadly, slowly, expressing her sadness at Fakir's entrapment, then she began to express how she wanted him to come out, and she would gladly do anything for his freedom. At the end of her dance, she pressed her body against the red crystal. All of a sudden there was a loud and nasty sounding "**plop**", she felt as if she was being sucked in. On the other side, Fakir was kicked out of the crystal, and Ahiru entered in his place. Her thoughts were limited. She felt like she was paralyzed, in a very uncomfortable way, and someone was forcing her eyelids open all the time. She could only see in front of her, and everything was the color red. Finally Ahiru fainted with her eyes open.

---

Fakir's first thought after he had been thrown out was, _Ahiru_. _Where is she? _He whirled around and froze with shock. There she was, trapped in the red crystal in the same pose as he had been in seconds ago, and she looked very sad. Fakir pounded on the crystal with his fists and yelled. _Princess Tutu?! How did she turn back into Princess Tutu? How did she get me out? How do I get her out? What an idiot! Next time find a way to get me out without getting yourself in trouble!_ _Never mind…There's no time for me to scold her in my thoughts._

Fakir looked around for Lucille just like Ahiru had. He saw the hammer lying nearby, and without thinking twice, swung it onto the crystal with all his strength. Aside from a loud ringing noise that issued, nothing happened. _Damn you, Lucille! _Fakir stared at the frozen Ahiru. He pounded on the glass, cried out to Lucille to show herself, but she didn't. Dawn was approaching, and the fog was beginning to be chased out by the sun's appearance. Fakir felt lonelier than he had ever been in his entire life.

For that whole day, Fakir tried everything. He even ran to Charon's house for a sword and tried to thrust it into the crystal. The crystal remained whole, but the sword shattered. Now the moon had nearly risen to the middle of the sky, and Fakir dropped to his knees from exhaustion. _Why can I not get her out? I would gladly take her place right now, but I don't know how she did it. _His lower lip quavered.

"Oh how sad," said a cold voice.

Fakir looked up and saw Lucille in front of him. "Get her out!" he yelled angrily.

"No. Why should I? You have to get her out. After all, it was your original prison."

"How?!"

Lucille yawned and stretched. Even when she stretched, she looked lovely and graceful. "I won't tell you." She smirked and did a small twirl. "I want to see you suffer. Oh, and - if you don't get her out by midnight tomorrow, she'll be sealed in there forever." Lucille disappeared while her laughter echoed around the town square.

Fakir swore and threw the handle of his shattered sword blindly in any direction. He stood up and glared at the red crystal that imprisoned Ahiru. "I will get you out even if it means death for me!" he whispered. At that moment, a gust of wind blew his hair back, and he felt a cape rippling at his legs. In Fakir's hands, a beautifully carved double-bladed sword of steel appeared. He felt a brown felt mask on his face.

Surprised, Fakir raised his sword to examine it. _If this is what I truly am,_ he thought, _I don't care, as long as it is able to get Ahiru out._ With that, he cried, "Ahiru!" and charged at the red crystal, piercing it with his new sword. Shards of red glass flew everywhere. Fakir threw his sword down and it melted into the ground. The same time that happened, his cape and mask disappeared. He was holding an unconscious Ahiru in his arms. Her Princess Tutu personality had also disappeared now that she was free of the crystal. Fakir felt himself slipping. He fell on his knees, taking care to hold Ahiru so she didn't fall to the stone ground. Then his head collided with stone paving, and he knew no more.

* * *

Stay tuned for the next episode! I _do_ hope it was enjoyable. But since I really don't have any reviews...Maybe I shouldn't put the next chapter up? Mwuahahahaahahaa 


	5. Act 4

**_Disclaimer: _**I don't own Princess Tutu. They should pay me for my story, though!

Sorry for the delay - (in my opinion a couple days in between uploading is a delay LOL...I'm an impatient person)..I've been busy working on a website for Princess Tutu. So far I've got two pages done, but I'm planning to add lots of stuff and info - at least, if I can or have time, to it. Also, I was thinking about uploading this story too, and having fan-art (either done by me or any other volunteer) put up alongside it to illustrate the chapters.

If any of you are interested to draw different chapter scenes for this story and have them posted on the website, please feel free to contact me. I will of course, include your info so that it is known that you are the one who illustrated the particular picture. I am also hoping I could do a separate fan-art section, but since there are already a couple of Princess Tutu fan art galleries on the web, I'm not sure if I should. _I'm still only two days into making this website, so there won't be any promises. But if you are interested, do tell me; it would motivate me much more. _**I think I added the link to a preview of a page that I have made on my profile, but if it's not up, I'll have to work on that later. **

**Cheers!**

**_

* * *

_**

**Act 4**

Ahiru opened her eyes to the light of a dull sun. "Wha-?" she mumbled. Something lumpy underneath her stirred. Ahiru sat up quickly and stared. "Fakir?" He didn't answer. "Asleep," she whispered, then looked around. "The crystal shattered. How did he do that?" The place looked like a tornado had struck the town square. There were raven feathers and red shards of glass everywhere. Ahiru looked back down at Fakir, a million questions popping into her head.

Fakir stirred again, and this time his eyes flickered open. As soon as he saw Ahiru sitting in front of him, he began to shout. "How could you do such a stupid thing, you idiot! Next time don't get yourself into trouble like that! If you want to get me out, find a way to get me out without putting yourself in danger like that!"

"Sorry."

"Idiot! You made me worry so much!"

Ahiru scowled. _His vocabulary only consists of "idiot this and idiot that!" He should start school from grade one again._ "Can you stand up?" she asked. "Let's get you back to Charon's."

"No…I'm fine." He struggled and managed to get up by himself.

Suddenly everything around them turned dark. "Hello again!" cried a voice. It was Aotoa.

"Aotoa!" Fakir shouted. "Stop writing these stories!"

"Oh? And turn your beloved Ahiru back into a duck?" Aotoa laughed. "Don't worry about my character Lucille - she can't kill you _yet_, you know. She's only here to make you suffer. Why do you think she didn't order her ravens to peck your eyes out?" he laughed again, but it wasn't one of joy. Aotoa's laughter was harsh and cruel just like Lucille's.

Fakir clenched his hand and stepped forward to hit Aotoa, but Aotoa had mastered Drosselmeyer's skills, and was able to disappear, then reappear as one of the buildings. "Catch me if you can!" he taunted. "You can't make me stop writing stories!" then Aotoa vanished. Immediately light came flooding back, and everything appeared normal after he had gone.

"I don't know where to get the strength to fight another story," sighed Fakir. "This is a nightmare."

---

Next morning, Ahiru was late for ballet class. When she tried to sneak into class, Nero-sensei had been waiting for her with gleaming yellow eyes. "NEXT TIME YOU'RE LATE, AHIRU-CHAN, YOU WILL HAVE TO MARRY ME!"

"I won't be late again sensei!"

Obviously upset by her reluctance to marry him, Nero-sensei retreated to a corner and let his upset feelings take over. When he was done feeling sorry for himself, he stood up with a straight face. "Practice!"

After ballet class, Ahiru walked around the academy, wondering who Lucille's alternate personality was. "She has to have one, right?" Ahiru muttered. She looked around to the side, behind her, up to the sky, and everywhere but straight in front of herself. Suddenly she bumped into someone.

"Damn it, can't you keep your eyesight fixed in front of you?" said an annoyed voice.

"Fakir?"

"You idiot. Next time watch where you're going."

Taken aback, Ahiru stared at him. "Sorry. I was just wondering who Lucille might be."

Fakir shut his mouth and glared slightly. "I think I know who. Six months ago, shortly after Prince Mytho defeated the monster raven, a new girl named Karmen transferred to Kinkan academy. She might be the one. But why?"

"I want to see if I can be friends with her. She might not be so bad."

Fakir raised his eyebrows. "I don't think-"

"Thanks Fakir!" Ahiru ran off.

For a few seconds, Fakir stared after her, feeling stunned. Catching himself off guard, he immediately frowned again and resumed his moody look.

---

Ahiru knew she had seen the new girl somewhere. "Karmen," she murmured to herself as she looked around. "That's a pretty name."

"Are you looking for someone?" said a cold voice behind Ahiru.

Ahiru's hair stood on end. "Qua-" she screamed as she jumped. "Oh! Karmen!" she exclaimed as she turned around.

"You were looking for me, weren't you?"

"Y-yes. I heard you were new."

Karmen's eyes narrowed. "I'm not new anymore. I've been here for six months."

"Oh."

"I think that it's you who is new."

"Well…ah…I used to study here, but I transferred back because I didn't like the school, and there were a lot of other reasons, and my family didn't come because they didn't like the town, and…I'm ranting! Oh no," Ahiru blurted, fidgeting.

Karmen couldn't help but let a small smile run across her lips. "Where do you live?"

Meanwhile, Fakir who had been spying on her interaction with Karmen, gaped. "She knows how to lie so well for no reason," he commented to himself, his eyes bulging.

"Oh I…The town I used to live in? The name's really long, you wouldn't remember. But I stay in the girl's dormitory now." Ahiru began to poke her two index fingers together.

Fakir rolled his eyes.

"Oh. Well I have my ballet session. See you around!" Before Ahiru could respond, Karmen had run off.

"She sure seemed eager to get away," muttered Ahiru.

"Look, Ahiru. Don't try to make friends with her. She was only nice to you because the two of you are in the middle of a bustling place with students," said Fakir, stepping out from behind a pillar. "She should already be able to tell that she is really Princess Lucille. And if she knows that, then she knows that you're Princess Tutu. The last thing we want is for you to cause a commotion with a girl who hates you in class."

"It's worth a try! If I can stop her from being evil, it's worth a try!"

"Look, stupid. You're not the real Princess Tutu anymore! I saw you when you were trapped in her prison, and you looked just like a dressed up duck-girl!"

Ahiru glared at him, her mouth twitching. "It doesn't matter whether I'm Princess Tutu or not, does it? I don't need to be Princess Tutu to be friends with someone!"

Fakir looked away with a small "humph," and folded his arms. "What we should be doing right now is finding out how to stop Aotoa, not befriending his creation!" he said heatedly. There was profound silence as they thought about the last sentence that had been voiced.

_How to stop him? Where would I find information on that? I don't know the story that Aotoa's writing, so I wouldn't know how to change it. And he's not dead like Drosselmeyer yet. Is he?!_ Fakir's eyes widened. _Could he be dead?!_

_Could it be possible that we try and join forces with those who stop stories from becoming reality to stop Aotoa? But all they want to do is chop off Fakir's head,_ thought Ahiru.

"I have to be somewhere," muttered Fakir, and he turned in the direction of the library.

"I think I remember him saying that they live in the used bookstore," Ahiru thought aloud, automatically heading for it, and totally forgetting that Fakir had left, or had even been in front of her. Five minutes later she had arrived in front of the used bookstore, gazing up at its rotting sign under the afternoon sun. The street was deserted, and all was eerily quiet save for the rustle of leaves being blown by the wind.

* * *

Alright, so it wasn't that long. But I don't have much time to put up more chapters, so be happy. Got to rush for piano and violin lessons. 

Stay tuned for the next episode! (bah, should I even say episode when it's not a show? scratches head I like to think it's a show.)


	6. Act 5

**_Disclaimer:_** I do not own Princess Tutu.

If anyone wishes to take part in illustrating this story, please contact me, and if you wish, your artwork will be submitted to my site, where this story will also be uploaded. Links to previews of what the site will be like can be found at my profile.

* * *

When Fakir entered the library, all was quiet - as expected. He walked around, hunting for Aotoa. _Of course he wouldn't be here…now that he's become the next Drosselmeyer, why would I be so stupid as to look for him here?_ All the same, Fakir hoped he might bump into Aotoa. _But if I do meet him, what would I do? _

Each of the isles between the tall shelves filled full of books were empty. There was no one at all in the library. Very few students went to the library, and if they did, it was usually on the weekends. Fakir's brow furrowed. _Just to be sure…_he thought, as he headed towards the store room. Shaking, he opened the door and switched on the light.

_Empty._

Fakir sighed and went to the checkout desk, carrying the book on writing which he had found on a table. "One book-" Fakir froze mid-sentence.

Behind the desk, lying on the floor, was a pair of broken and blood spattered spectacles. Lying next to it, was a motionless body.

---

Ahiru shivered as a warm afternoon breeze swept past. She didn't shiver from being cold, though. Ahiru felt a feeling of trepidation as she stared at the dark building in front of her. She was scared of what she might find inside the used bookstore. Mustering courage, Ahiru took a deep breath and opened the creaky door of the building.

Once she was inside, it was completely pitch black compared to the sun outside. She stood still for a minute, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. As soon as they had, Ahiru could make out the outlines of old bookshelves on every side of her, stacked with battered books. Curious rustling sounds could be heard from behind the shelves, and the shop was filled with a musty smell. When Ahiru took a step forward, a small cloud of dust rose from the contact her foot made with the floor.

_Do they really live here?_ _It seems unused. _she wondered. _It sounds like there are people whispering, though._ Ahiru silently urged herself to move on towards what looked like a faint bit of light emanating from the far corner of the store. _I must do this to stop Aotoa._

"Umm…" she called out in a shaky voice as she approached the light. As soon as she was close enough, Ahiru could see it was coming from an oil lamp on an ancient-looking wooden desk. Behind the desk, sat a still figure.

"Are you one of those who stops stories from becoming reality?" she whispered.

The figure reached out for the oil lamp and moved it so it illuminated both of their faces. "Why do you seek us?" he said in the voice of a very old man.

"I-" Ahiru paused as she stared at the familiar face of the old man which she had seen by the lake on the day all the little cloaked and hooded men had gotten butted by Femio's bull.

The old man's eyes widened. "You!" he exclaimed. Immediately, the rustling became louder, and Ahiru could have sworn that the shadows around her moved in closer.

"Wait!" she cried. "I want to discuss something with you! Can we help each other out?"

"How?" he looked doubtful.

"We want to help…defeat Aotoa. Fakir and I don't know the story that he's writing," she said. "Please…we want to change it."

The old man sighed. "You don't know very much." He scratched his chin. "We don't know what the story that Aotoa's writing is either. How could we? It's still being written, and we haven't found anything similar."

"Do you know where he is?"

"No. If he has truly become the next Drosselmeyer, then all we can say for sure is that he's dead, traversing time and space of his own free will."

"Dead?!" Ahiru's voice was louder than she anticipated.

"Yes. That is the only way for him to master all of Drosselmeyer's tricks and skills."

"Then how does he write? Is he using a story maker too?"

"You figured that out pretty quick. All we can do now is search for the story maker and destroy it. That is the only option available to us. And you and your other friend would be of great use to us. Of course if we destroy the story maker," he continued, his eyes boring straight into Ahiru's wide blue ones, "that would mean you will have to turn back into a duck again."

Ahiru's eyes widened even more. "I-" she stared at him. Then she relaxed. "We will help you. But on one condition." The corners of the old man's mouth turned upwards.

After she had come out of the used bookstore, Ahiru looked back dolefully at the old used bookstore she had just come out of. _I can't believe it. But at least they promised not to ever bother Fakir again in exchange for our help. The old man wanted us to try and fight against the story. He seemed to want it very much. But I…_

---

"Aotoa!" Fakir clamped his hand to his mouth and took a step backwards. A gruesome sight lay before him: the body of Aotoa lying in a dark drying pool of blood. His glasses had fallen to the side and shattered. Aotoa's right hand gripped the handle of a blood-spattered knife. Not wanting to see any more, Fakir ran out of the library.

"Fakir!"

Fakir looked towards the voice of Ahiru, who was running towards him.

"Fakir?" she said worryingly, stopping in front of him. "Are you alright? You're breathing so hard, and your eyes are really wide."

"Aotoa-" he said in a hoarse voice.

"You saw him?" For a minute, she doubted the words of the old man who had said Aotoa was dead. "Where is he?" She glanced towards the library and would have run into it, but Fakir grabbed her arm.

"Don't go," he panted. "He's dead."

"Huh?! That's what the old man said!"

"Old man?"

"In the used bookstore. I went to see him."

"What?! Did he do anything to you?"

"No, Fakir. I said that we would agree to help them." Ahiru then proceeded to tell Fakir about the story maker that they would have to find, and what the old man had said about Aotoa.

"So he killed himself," Fakir finished. He was still in shock. "How are we supposed to find the story maker? Would it look like the one Drosselmeyer made?"

"I guess we'll have to look. It has to be in this town, right? Aotoa can't bring it back to…can he?" Ahiru didn't know what to call it. Was it a different dimension? Or was it simply the sliver of in-between-time?

Silence from Fakir. He seemed to be lost in thought.

"We should start searching!" said Ahiru, balling her fist in resolve. Concentrating hard, she focused her thoughts upon Princess Tutu's transformation. After she had managed to transform, she looked down at the necklace she wore. "It's not the same," she whispered disappointedly.

It was true that the necklace wasn't the same. The red pieces of jewel that had been held in place by the gold wire frame weren't as red as before. They seemed a little more transparent, and the wings that were fixed onto the lower half of the pendant were a different shape. They looked like butterfly's wings, rather than a dragonfly's; the wings' widths were wider, and the tips were sharp and pinched together.

"Is this the shape of my heart?" wondered Ahiru aloud, bursting Fakir's bubble of thought.

"Why do you need to become Princess Tutu to search?" asked Fakir, cocking his head to one side.

"Because I thought my necklace would help me find it," she muttered.

Fakir shook his head looking frusturated. _She's really dumb. Why would her necklace help her find it? It's not part of Mytho's heart anymore, and it doesn't have anything to do with the story._

Someone down the street laughed coldly, making Ahiru and Fakir both look up. "Princess Lucille." Fakir spat.

* * *

Stay tuned for the next episode!

Don't worry - I'm not straying off topic. The things I mentioned in the previous part of the story will come into play soon.


	7. Act 6

**_Disclaimer:_** I do not own Princess Tutu. Maybe some day when I've married the richest man in the world.

I'm very sorry for not having a disclaimer or anything before the story...I was in such a hurry to get it up, and was quite busy. Too many distractions nowadays...anyway, very sorry for having to take down the chapters again! I'm such a perfectionist...

* * *

"You will never find the story maker!" she said with a gleam in her eye. "It's far better hidden than Drosselmeyer's. Besides, that's not your main worry now." Princess Lucille smiled. "I am going to sacrifice the whole of Kinkan town to the ravens as an offering to my late father. As a treat, the two of you will be the last I sacrifice. Enjoy watching your friends disappear!" she cackled, and beckoned to something on her left.

Out stepped Freya-san, whom Ahiru had once saved from becoming one of Mytho's victims when he had wanted to sacrifice people's hearts to the monster raven. Freya-san walked with a happy dreamy expression towards Princess Lucille, and didn't seem to notice Ahiru and Fakir who were staring with horror.

"Come here," said Princess Lucille as she held out a small blue flower in her hand. "Come and be with your flowers forever."

"No!" shouted Ahiru, realizing that there was a flock of ravens hovering around Princess Lucille. _Not again!_ she thought. _Why is this happening again with Freya-san? _

As Ahiru began to run forward to stop Freya-san, Princess Lucille pointed quickly in her direction, and a black barrier came down in front of Ahiru. "You are useless," said Princess Lucille tonelessly, beckoning to Freya-san again.

"How can these people be so stupid?" spat Fakir, and as he spoke, a flowing cape appeared on his shoulders, his faded blue clothes turned to a blue and white costume with striped puffy sleeves. A brown felt mask appeared over his eyes, and a beautiful sword materialized in his hand. "I will not let Aotoa control me!" he shouted, charging towards the barrier and taking a swing at it with his sword. "We can overcome the story!" he shouted as the barrier broke, and Ahiru began to make for Freya-san as Fakir advanced on Princess Lucille.

"No!" said Princess Lucille, and it wasn't a cry of anguish. It was an order, as if she was and older boss and they were her naughty servants. Princess Lucille raised her hand and pointed towards Ahiru. Immediately the swarm of ravens behind her began to flap towards Ahiru, their cawing so loud that it drowned out her screams.

"Maybe I should cut your hand off so you can't point!" Fakir shouted angrily. _No, I should save Ahiru! _He hesitated for a minute.

Suddenly all the noise stopped. The ravens had been silenced. Princess Lucille and Fakir looked with stunned faces towards Ahiru, who was surrounded by a warm glowing aura of light. As all eyes continued upwards, they saw a tall beautiful girl who consisted of warm light, sheltering Ahiru under her dress. All of the ravens had disappeared as they collided with her powerful glow.

"Who are you?" Princess Lucille spluttered.

"I am the spirit of an oil lamp," said the girl without hesitation. Behind her, Freya-san had snapped out of her reverie, and with a silent scream, was turning to run.

Princess Lucille looked even angrier and raised her hand to bring the fleeing girl back by force.

The spirit of the oil lamp simply shook her head and gazed unblinkingly at Lucille as she unsuccessfully tried to summon her ravens.

"What?!" Princess Lucille cried, staring at her hand, which was powerless around the oil lamp spirit. "Why are you helping her?!" she hissed, indicating Ahiru, "Didn't she take away the piece of Mytho's heart that knew how you felt and consoled you? Didn't she take Mytho away from you?"

The girl smiled. "In return, Princess Tutu taught me how I must not force happiness upon others, and not to be sad. I'm very grateful to her for helping me, so I am repaying her."

Princess Lucille glared at the spirit, and giving a little huff of defeat, disappeared in a whirlwind of raven feathers. When she had gone, the oil lamp spirit shrank down to Fakir and Ahiru's height.

"Thank you," said Ahiru, smiling.

"You are welcome, Princess Tutu!" came the happy voice of the oil lamp spirit as she continued to shrink until she had turned back into an oil lamp on the stone pavement. Ahiru picked the lamp up and beamed at the oil wick inside. As if in response, the light throbbed.

"You turned into a…" said Ahiru, noticing Fakir's outfit for the first time. "A knight."

"Yes. It must be part of Aotoa's story too," said Fakir.

"How much has he written?" Ahiru wondered aloud, thinking back to several incidents.

"He doesn't know what he's writing about!" cried an old and tired voice. It was quite faint. When they looked up, Fakir and Ahiru could just about make out the faint outline of Drosselmeyer's head, and his shiny red eyes. "He's been trying to cut me out of the story," complained Drosselmeyer. "He doesn't have a plot, and he's trying to force more tragedy into the story without knowing where he's going."

"So he's just making things up as he goes along," said Fakir thoughtfully.

"Yes…" came Drosselmeyer's faint voice. Then all of a sudden he was gone.

---

Morning came, and Ahiru was nearly late to class again. She managed to get in just as the clock struck seven. "I hope you all have not forgotten," said Neko-sensei, his eyes gleaming, "that tomorrow is the last rehearsal for our play. I also hope that you have all been practicing your parts. Ahiru-san!"

Ahiru stiffened.

"Compared to the wonderful dance you did on your first day here, you have been doing quite poorly. At this rate you will not be entering the special class. If you do not pay more attention to your dancing, I will take you out of the play and have Karmen-san replace you instead."

Ahiru winced. "Yes, sensei." Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Fakir looking at her with disapproval. _The dance with him…_ she thought, daydreaming again after Neko-sensei had walked away. _That's right. Could it have just been part of Aotoa's story? It must have been._ She sighed and began her warm ups with the rest of the class.

After their classes, Ahiru and Fakir decided to do a search of the town. Ahiru couldn't find Karmen or her alias Princess Lucille anywhere, and neither did they see anything that looked like a story-maker.

"It wouldn't be out in plain view," said Fakir grouchily as they roamed Kinkan town's streets side by side.

"What if it was something that was right in front of us all the time, yet we never thought it could have been a story-maker?"

"I doubt it."

They searched until night came, and finally they gave up and went back to their dormitories to sleep. But while Ahiru finally managed to get her eyes to close, Fakir gave up on trying to sleep, and slipped out down to the lake.

"I wonder whether it would be better if she were a duck or a girl," Fakir said softly to himself. _What are you thinking?_ he scolded himself in his mind. "If she were a duck, she wouldn't be so troublesome, and I wouldn't have to listen to her dumb sentences." He stared out at the midnight fog that hovered over the lake. Soft footsteps could be heard, and the rustle of grass as someone came to a stop behind him.

"Fakir."

"What is it, Uzura?" he said without turning around.

"You wish Ahiru were a duck again, zura?"

"No."

Uzura planted herself in front of him. "Then why do you say that, zura?"

"I don't know."

Uzura looked at him with her big blue eyes, thinking about what he said. "So Fakir wishes she were a duck, but Fakir doesn't really want it, zura?"

Fakir let out an amused sound. "Yes."

"I see, zura."

Uzura stood next to Fakir and they both looked out at the lake. Fakir noticed she hadn't brought her drum. After some time, Fakir felt his head drooping, so he got up. "Uzura, let's go home."

* * *

Stay tuned for the next episode! sigh...

Reeeeeeeeeeviiewwww like when Ahiru said, "Ruuuuuuuuuu...sama..."


	8. Act 7

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own Princess Tutu. -yawn-

So tired...its 2:30am here. But here's your next chapter. Sorry I haven't updated for sometime, but been busy, and slowing down at writing the chapters. I feel a writer's block coming on, even though i have the main plot planned. Also lazy to work on the website, but it's starting to come along.

* * *

"Ahiruuuu!" said two girls' voices in unison. 

"Huh?" Ahiru blinked up at two blurry images - one purple and one yellow.

"We woke you up early today so you won't be late for the rehearsal!" said Lillie's bright voice.

"You can't let Karmen dance with Fakir-sama!"

"Mhmm…" Ahiru rubbed her eyes and the images became clearer. Both Lillie and Pique were sitting on her bunk bed.

"Get up!" said Lillie, grabbing Ahiru's neck and shaking her.

"You'll suffocate her," said Pique in a bored voice.

"Of course not! You think so?" Lillie let go of Ahiru, who wobbled out of bed like a piece of jelly and got dressed. As soon as she was ready, Pique and Lillie grabbed her arms and marched her out of the dormitory. "We can't be late!" Lillie said happily.

"You must do well in the rehearsal. Did you practice, Ahiru?" asked Pique.

"She doesn't need to practice! She's a very good dancer!" cried Lillie, pinching Ahiru's face.

_Since when were they so close to me? _wondered Ahiru._ Is this Aotoa's story, or is this normal? I don't know what's what anymore._ "I didn't practice," she admitted sleepily.

Lillie put a hand over her shocked open mouth. "Ahiru! Don't worry! We'll help you! Because we're friends!"

"Friends, friends, friends!" they sang as they headed down the road with Ahiru squished between them. Amazingly, they managed to make it to class without being late.

As usual, Neko-sensei cried out in his exaggerated voice. "You better have practiced today! AHIRU! If you don't do well, you will be replaced by Karmen and will have to M-A-R-R-Y M-E!"

Ahiru didn't even blink. "Hai." she said in agreement, making Neko-sensei go berserk again. Beside Ahiru, Lillie and Pique squeezed her shoulders and giggled, "Don't be so hard on him Ahiru!" They both gave her a shove towards the middle of the room, and whispered, "Ganbatte!"

Ahiru felt dizzy from being around the hyper girls. When her mind cleared, Fakir had already come forward and bowed in front of her. He took her hand, and they both began to dance. Ahiru's feet felt numb as she went through the different steps that she had been told to do, but didn't practice. This ballet was much different than the ballet Princess Tutu usually danced.

"Oi," whispered Fakir out of the corner of his mouth. "Stop holding yourself so stiff."

Ahiru tensed even more and tried to remember her steps properly. Neko-sensei seemed to be on the verge of erupting, and out of the corner of her eye, she could see Karmen being very friendly and sweet-looking towards Pique and Lillie.

"What happened to the way you danced on the first day?" continued Fakir. "Dance like that again."

"But it was just part of the story."

"No it wasn't."

Ahiru gazed at him, feeling shocked. _It wasn't part of the story? What was it? _She didn't stop to think about the fact that the characters in the story wouldn't be able to tell if they were in a story or not. _Maybe Aotoa doesn't have as much control over this story as I think he does._ Ahiru allowed herself to be lifted high in the air by Fakir. She smoothly came down again and twirled gracefully.

"Much better," he muttered in a neutral voice.

When the dance ended, Neko-sensei didn't look very pleased nor very upset. "That was good, Ahiru-san. What made you feel better towards the end?"

"I…ah….err…" she didn't know what to say.

"Fakir-sama whispered encouraging words to her! We saw it all!" cried Pique and Lillie, stepping forward and squeezing a disgruntled Ahiru. Fakir had disappeared. "Right, Ahiru?"

"Oh the wonders of love!" exclaimed Neko-sensei, interrupting Ahiru before she could begin. "First comes love, then comes m-m-ma-marriage! Don't forget tomorrow is the play! If anyone makes a mistake, you will have to **marry me!**" Silently, the three girls tiptoed backwards and out of the room. As soon as they were clear of Neko-sensei, everyone resumed a natural posture.

"You did so well!" cried Lillie, throwing a punch of victory straight into the air.

"You think?" asked Ahiru, looking puzzled. To tell the truth, she had been nervous at the end of the pas de deux, wondering if he would kiss her again. The two girls at either side of her kept on babbling without noticing that Ahiru was lost in her thoughts again.

"Ahiru!" said a sharp voice which made her look up.

"Fakir?" she said in wonder. Meanwhile, Pique and Lillie had disappeared from her side. Fakir wasn't looking too happy. _So much for their support,_ she thought.

"Stop dreaming. After school, meet me at the town square to start searching again. I have a bad feeling about tonight."

Ahiru's startled blue eyes looked up at him. "Okay," she said. _He's got a bad feeling about tonight?_ she wondered as he walked past her. _Oh? I hear voices._ Karmen, Lillie and Pique were in the academy's garden, talking and having a good time. Ahiru hid behind a bush and spied for a minute. She scowled. What was Karmen trying to do? Ahiru stormed off to her other classes and left the three girls to themselves.

After school, she set off for the town square without saying goodbye to Lillie and Pique. _I'm sure they're having a great time with Karmen,_ she thought crossly. Ahiru missed the times when she was close to the two girls, before Mytho and Rue left Kinkan Town. _Well, I must try hard and succeed at stopping Aotoa for now! _she decided.

"Ahiruuuuu!" giggled a voice.

"Eh?" Ahiru looked up.

"Ahiru!" called another voice.

"Who's there?" Ahiru called, looking around. Kinkan Town was notorious for its fog, and she could only see two feet in front of herself. She couldn't even tell if she had arrived at the town square yet.

"Can't you tell?" The voices sounded cold. The owners of the voices both stepped out in front of Ahiru and smiled.

"It's you! What happened?!" shouted Ahiru, bringing her hand up to close her mouth.

* * *

Stay tuned for the next episode! 

Oh well I'm pretty sure you have a good idea who. Sorry because the next act will take some time. I need to figure out how to write it. Anyway, thank you for reading up to this chapter and tolerating my story so far! I'm quite a lazy pig at uploading these though.


	9. Act 8

**_Disclaimer:_** I do not own Princess Tutu.

Finally up!

I'm sooooo sorry! For a long time I couldn't upload stories for some weird reason. My computer also screwed up, so I had to re-install windows. Thank god I backed up my files. Finally the writer's block is wearing off, but I'm still not quite sure if I'm making it seem too OOC. Oh well...I guess everyone's style of writing is different...Humm...About that website I was making...I'm slacking off on that for a while.

* * *

"Ahiru! Will you stop dreaming of impossible things and give up already? You'll never find the story maker," said a girl with blonde hair. Her usual side ponytails were tied into buns at each side of her head. She wore a blue tutu with a frilly hem and a large ribbon tied around her waist. But though her green eyes were still round-ish, the top corners were sharp and pointy, and her pupils were blank and steely. Beside her stood a girl in a stiff purple dress, much different from the cute blue one the blonde wore. This purple tutu's hem was jagged and sharp, giving it a torn effect. Her dress top and hair were decorated with pearls. Her eyes were much narrower and pointy, and looked cruel. It chilled Ahiru to look at the girls. Together, they gave off a very intimidating aura. 

"What do you mean?" stuttered Ahiru, taking a step backwards. "What happened to you? Aren't you Pique and Lillie?" She stopped. _They can't be! How can they be?_ At the mention of the two names, both of the girls looked momentarily stunned. However, they regained their cool almost instantly, and smirked.

"Incorrect," they both said.

"I am Princess Esmeralda!" giggled the blonde, spinning once.

"And I am Princess Carlotta!" said the girl with purple hair, giving Ahiru a smug smile, and leaning against Princess Esmeralda.

"It can't be!" Ahiru whispered. "You're Pique and Lillie, my friends!"

"Your friends?" Esmeralda laughed with scorn. "We were never your friends! You stole our Fakir-sama! You stole our knight! How dare you!"

"She didn't steal anyone," said a quiet voice, which caused all three girls to turn and gasp. Fakir stood silhouetted against the fog and silver moonlight. He had his mask on, and his sword was held steadily in his hand.

"Fakir!"

"I said, she never stole anyone," Fakir repeated and slowly took off his mask.

"How did the meeting go, my birds?" Princess Lucille's voice rang out through the fog, which was starting to clear. There was a soft _flap_ and crunch of gravel as feet touched the ground. Then Lucille walked into the midst of them. "Isn't this a nice little party?" she smiled sweetly. "Shall we add two more to it?" Someone stepped up from behind her, and leaned against her shoulder.

"I don't require an invitation," said Femio.

"Femio?!" Ahiru looked around wildly at the people surrounding her. _This story is getting even more bizarre! Where is Aotoa?! Why is he doing this?!_

"How dare you address me so impolitely? You should say 'Femio-sama'," Femio said with a disdainful air. "No one can surpass my quality, my beauty, my rank!" He raised a hand dramatically in the air.

"Together we are the most perfect pair in the world," Princess Lucille said with a smirk.

"No one can surpass this flawless beauty," Femio whispered, gazing down into her eyes.

Fakir didn't look impressed.

"Why'd you pick him?" asked Princess Carlotta. Her voice was filled with disapproval as she crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.

"What are you talking about?" Lucille shot Princess Carlotta and nasty glare.

Carlotta immediately looked down at her feet. "N-nothing," she mumbled.

The shock of Femio and the two new Princesses was beginning to wear off. Fakir shifted, and the tip of his sword swinging downwards and hitting the gravel made a loud _clink_. He rested on his sword. "So now what?" he said. "This is an interesting show. But what other lame ideas do you have, Aotoa?" he said casually, glancing up towards the sky.

Everyone else followed his gaze upwards. There was no answer though. Princess Lucille snorted with laughter. "Looks like he doesn't want to come down here. I have a game I want to play tonight," she said. "A little game for our party."

Fakir straightened up and wrapped his fingers around the handle of his sword.

"My, so threatening," she mocked. "You won't be able to do anything though." She glanced in Fakir's direction and flicked her finger. A large black cage descended around him. "This game is for princesses only." Behind her, another black cage descended upon Femio.

"What are you doing?!" Femio yelled.

"Relax, darling." A large luxurious bed appeared in Femio's cage as Princess Lucile turned to face the other three girls with an evil smile on her face. The world around them began to spin. Ahiru found herself growing very dizzy. All around her she could hear soft flapping, and something kept tickling her face. Then before she knew it, the spinning stopped, and she was on solid ground. Beside her, the other three Princesses had also landed.

_I must have been transported by Princess Lucille's magic,_ she thought, recalling the flapping sounds. _The things that brushed my face must have been black feathers. _

"Here we are, Princesses," Lucille said smugly.

Carlotta, Esmeralda and Ahiru looked around. They were standing on the edge of the town's gate. Before them stretched a series of platforms and planks, kept afloat in the air by resting on Princess Lucille's minion crows, that were flapping for dear life. "What's this?" stuttered Princess Esmeralda.

"This is a test." Princess Lucille danced forwards onto a plank and turned around to face the other girls. "There are four starting points. Along the way, you will have to cross at least one of the other paths. At the end of the paths lie your knight."

"Why'd you lock Femio up, then?" asked Princess Carlotta.

"Just for fun. Besides, I can't have him interfering us with his beauty." She giggled. "If you fall off, you will turn into a duck."

"What?!" cried all three.

"That's right! Into a shameful little duck, just like Ahiru was not long ago."

Ahiru's mouth set itself into a straight line.

"And the first one to reach Fakir gets to keep him."

Princess Carlotta and Princess Esmeralda immediately became rapt.

"This isn't right!" interrupted Ahiru. "You're Pique and Lillie! You're not Princess Carlotta and Princess Esmeralda! Princess Lucille, you're Karmen! Fakir isn't someone you can just give away like a toy!"

"You're right. I don't really have a way to keep the others away from him. Hmmm…Alright! The first one to reach Fakir gets him. And the losers will turn into ducks even if they didn't fall off."

"No!" yelled Carlotta, at the same time Esmeralda said, "Yes!" Carlotta looked at Esmeralda with a confused look.

"This is fine with me," said Princess Esmeralda happily, ignoring Carlotta. "Let's go! Love Battle!"

* * *

Hmm, my chapters seem to be becoming shorter and shorter. I don't want to bunch two chapters together into one, since I don't get them down fast enough, and I'm also afraid that I'm wading into a pond filled with alligators. In otherwords, I'm not sure if my story's going in the right direction. But anyway, thank you for reading up to this far, all of you! 

Stay tuned for the next episode!


	10. Act 9

**_Disclaimer: _**I do not own Princess Tutu.

**Note:** My dear readers...bla bla bla...I'm SO SORRY!! I noticed that in the past few chapters, I totally screwed up Neko - I mean Nero-sensei's name. SEE? Since his name is almost the same as the old one, it's so hard to keep track of which is the right one. Please excuse my stupidness, and try to think of him as named Nero-sensei instead of Neko-sensei, who is probably running around Kinkan Town's with thousands of kittens trailing behind him right now.

Also, I have been really busy lately. I'm hoping to become a mangaka...it has become one of my dreams, aside from writing and playing my music instruments. So I've been busy drawing! Yippee...I hope to get manga editing software for my fifteenth birthday. By the way - if my story seems to have become a little off tone, it would probably be because I've got a different anime on my mind lately. Sorry to those of you who are total Princess Tutu fans, but I've become addicted to the anime called Air. AND! - I don't have a proofreader or anything. Everything I do here is on my own, so if I try to proofread with a distracted mind, everything comes out wrong too. Anyway, now for the story. I will try to get these up faster. (Sorry for taking up so much space with my notes)

**

* * *

**

Princess Lucille stepped aside as the other princesses ran forwards onto the planks. It was harder than Ahiru thought. It was hard to keep her balance, and in certain places there were large gaps that she had to jump across. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Princess Lucille dancing across her platforms with ease.

_Fine! _Ahiru closed her eyes and felt herself turning into Princess Tutu. She too began twirling across thin planks. Then came several traps and a tightrope. Ahiru managed to avoid the first three traps, but the fourth one caught her by surprise, and she lost her balance. She regained it quickly, but the others were way ahead of her.

"Please stop this!" she cried to the girls ahead. "You're my friends Pique and Lillie!"

"That may be so," laughed Princess Esmeralda, "but I won't allow you to have Fakir-sama!"

The course that Princess Lucille built was very tough. In some places the path twisted in such a way that it was easier for her to twirl along it rather than look down at the ground. Suddenly Ahiru felt herself being lowered. The other two princesses were experiencing it too. Princess Lucille had avoided it easily, since she had known that the trap would be there.

"What is this?!" Ahiru looked down at the trap. It was a gear from a clock, and was rotating downwards from her weight. She tried to climb up its huge teeth, but it was hard work. Looking down below made her dizzy. Instead of the streets of Kinkan Town, she saw a pitch black bottomless pit. Ahiru felt herself slipping with fear.

"Princess Tutu!" whispered someone next to her. "It's me Paulamoni."

Ahiru screamed and turned, nearly falling off the gear. It was getting harder to hold on to. "Paulamoni?!" she exclaimed.

Paulamoni smiled. She looked transparent, as if she wasn't really there. "I can't help you much," she whispered. "But since you healed my feeling of fear, I will help you with this," said Paulamoni.

Ahiru gave her a strange look. "Feeling of fear…" Then suddenly her face lit with recognition. "You're from the dancing troupe!"

Paulamoni offered Ahiru her hand. Ahiru placed hers in it, and the gear began to rotate upwards. "Thank you!" whispered Ahiru as Paulamoni faded away. Then Ahiru got back on her course and began to catch up.

"Too late!" said a sickeningly pleased voice.

Ahiru strained her eyes and saw that Princess Lucille had already reached the end of her path. "This isn't right!" said Ahiru. "You're the one who made this course! You knew where the traps were! You can't say you won this!"

Princess Lucille's face contorted into a wicked smile. "I said the first person to reach Fakir-sama. And it happens to be me." All of a sudden the crows holding up the planks for the course disappeared in a shower of purple sparks. Everything began to fall.

Ahiru's face became stern. "No!" she shouted and raised her hand in the stop gesture. "I won't allow this." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Princess Esmeralda and Carlotta falling and screaming. A stream of flowers appeared beneath her feet and began to carry her towards Princess Lucille. Princess Lucille gave a surprised gasp, but she recovered quickly and summoned her ravens to her side.

"Lillie! Pique!" Ahiru shouted, and concentrated her power so that the stream of flowers began to carry her friends up too. "You said we would only turn into ducks," said Ahiru to Princess Lucille. "Yet you made a deep pit for us all to fall in."

Princess Lucille snorted. "I don't have the power to turn you into ducks. It would have been easier to be rid of you instead."

"Stop this immediately." Ahiru waved her hand towards the caged men. "Take the cages off."

"I don't listen to anyone, much less you," scoffed Princess Lucille. "Why don't you make me? Your power is useless." Her ravens cawed viciously.

"Alright." Determined, Ahiru strained her mind and body together and thought of what she wanted to do. Slowly, thick vines began to flow from her hands towards Princess Lucille. Lucille stiffened, thinking the vines were meant for her, but they reached past her and curled themselves around Fakir's and Femio's cages' iron bars. The vines bent them apart like they were made of tin.

"Hmmph!" Princess Lucille snapped her fingers, and a pair of crows grabbed Femio's shirt. "You may have the ability to do that," she said, "but you don't have the guts to hurt me!" Just as the first rays of the sun were coming up, she and Femio were whisked away by magic, leaving two black feathers on the ground.

"Fakir!" Ahiru ran towards him and hugged him.

Fakir hugged her back and smiled. "Like I said," he said, "you didn't steal me," and leaned down and kissed her.

(_Kyaaaaa!! -floats up in a heavenly bliss-)_


	11. Profiles and Info

Too bad, you won't be getting another story chapter yet. Today you will be reading (if you have the patience,) about the new things I've added into the story. This chapter is mainly details and deeper insights into the characters' lives.

Ahh...I'm one really unhappy author. I always end up putting up chapters, then taking them off and putting them up, then taking them off again. I'm still not satisfied with my work, but I guess it will have to do for now.

I never really read up very much on ballet, or planned every exact detail out before I started writing. In fact it was just pleasurable to see where I could take myself, with a crude plan laid out before me. Now I understand you might think that I'm going a bit far with too many princesses, but it wouldn't be the same if they weren't princesses. The "other selfs" wouldn't be as exciting. To me, in Kinkan Town, all princesses hold magical powers.

* * *

Aotoa as the New Drosselmeyer

He may have been nice and helped Fakir and everyone in Season One, but deep down, he wished to have as much power as Fakir did. He truly wanted to be chosen by the oak tree, and in time, his jealousy began to build up. He had watched Fakir go down to the lake and greet Ahiru the duck everyday, and spend time with her, and to Aotoa, he felt as if Fakir was just wasting his gift. Thus his great hatred towards the residents of Kinkan Town grew deep, and he turned into a monster. But he is inexperienced, and can only repeat what Drosselmeyer did. His writing isn't strong enough to take on its own form, so he ends up lamely re-writing situations in a slightly different tone, while thinking he's piling a lot of tragedy on the story when he's not. His story actually has less tragedy than Drosselmeyer's, since it doesn't have a plot at all.

(Perhaps I insult myself in this sentence, but I think that the latest Aotoa resembles me. I have incorporated my own thoughts of my story into Aotoa's feelings. I don't wear glasses though.)

* * *

Princess Lucille, A.K.A. Karmen

I got her name, Karmen, from the opera Carmen. I liked the name, so I put a K instead of a C. Her alias Princess Lucille's name, was my own idea. The French opera Carmen is about a beautiful gypsy named Carmen, who isn't careful with her love. She breaks many men's hearts.

Like the Carmen in the French opera, Karmen is a long curly, black haired girl. In this story however, she has beautiful dark purple eyes. When turned into Princess Lucille, her hair is tied up neatly, and unlike Rue, she doesn't have a feather-like strand poking out of the top of her head. Her black ballet dress resembles Rue's, but its top has a jagged, feathery effect that curls outwards, revealing slightly more skin. She also wears a silver circlet and velvet choker with a ruby attached to it. Her ballet shoes are black and made of pure silk.

Karmen entered Kinkan Town before Drosselmeyer's story-making machine was destroyed. The machine had the intention of letting her enter later on in the story, but didn't get the chance. When Aotoa found out about this, he looked up the girl, who was going to school and leading a normal life, and entered her into his own story-maker with an alias called Princess Lucille.

Karmen isn't really evil. She seems cold, because she doesn't have any friends, and she also knows she's Princess Lucille. She can't help but follow what Aotoa writes. Karmen actually likes Ahiru and thinks she's a courageous girl, but because of the way the story is being written, Karmen's written feelings of hatred take over the others.

* * *

Princess Esmeralda, A.K.A. Lillie, and Princess Carlotta, A.K.A. Pique

They aren't princesses in the story for very long, but they're also important characters. I got Princess Esmeralda's name from the ballet, La Esmeralda. A beautiful name for a girl with green eyes such as Lillie, and grand sounding too. La Esmeralda is a 3 act ballet composed by Cesare Pugni. It was first presented by the Ballet of her Majesty's Theatre, London on March 9, 1844 with the Ballerina Carlotta Grisli as Esmeralda. Here again, is where I got Pique's alias's name.

Esmeralda is a girl with long blonde hair. Her hair is tied up exactly like the drawings of Lillie during ballet class. She wears a blue dress with a frilly hem and a huge ribbon tied around her waist, almost like a kimono, but not as large. Esmeralda's eyes have Lillie's eyes' shapes, but they also have a sharp edge to their eyelids, giving her a more cold look. Unlike Lillie's cute pupils, Esmeralda's eyes are blank.

I thought Princess Carlotta's dress would be stiff-like, since it showed Pique playing as Coppélia in Akt 15, Kapitel des Junges: Coppélia. Princess Carlotta's dress is purple and stiff, and its hems look torn. Her top is bordered with white pearls, and white pearls adorn her purple hair. Her eyes are very pointy and narrow.

These two princesses don't last long though. Though the pendants given to characters to transform them into princesses are meant to bring out their true feelings and character's hero, the pendants given to Lillie and Pique were tainted with evil, therefore they only brought out Lillie's and Pique's evil side. Otherwise Lillie and Pique wouldn't be pure evil at heart!

* * *

Fakir as the Knight

The picture on the Princess Tutu DVD box gave me inspiration for this. I just love masks, so when I saw Fakir holding the brown mask, dressed in his striped blue and white shirt with blue doublet, I just fell in love with the idea that he could turn into a knight! So yeah…

* * *

Ahiru as Princess Tutu

To clear up things, I will begin about Ahiru by saying that in my story, she is NOT in Princess Tutu's body. She is instead in Princess Tutu's dress, and able to use Princess Tutu's powers. The difference is that she is only one person. This is why, even when she's turned into 'Princess Tutu', I call her Ahiru.

What did you say? Oh - Why did I make it so that Ahiru has to morph into that, even though I say she's only one person? Because I don't want Ahiru running around in broad daylight with those powers. Too dangerous for a clumsy girl like her! (Quack)

She wears a necklace slightly different from the original. The transparent wings on it are butterfly-like, that is, their tips look pinched together instead of rounded like a dragonfly's. But she can't become a duck again by taking it off.

* * *

Aha! And I'm evil…This part's about me, the author (Drosselmeyer Boss)

Now I know you really don't have to read whatever I have to say about myself, but I'm going to say it anyway, and you can skip it if you like.

Am I a boy? Noooo…I'm a girl - I bet you figured that out already, even though I say "author". I know many young girls say "authoress", which is also correct, but the general term is author. I'm 15 this year, and live in South-east Asia (I bet my English is better than yours! Mwuahahahahaha!…Just kidding…it sucks…boohoo).

My favourite animes so far are: Princess Tutu, Air, Vampire Princess Miyu and Ouran Highschool Host Club. I aspire, and am already on the way to becoming one or all of these: A writer, a pianist, a violinist, a mangaka, a teacher, a mother (yay!), and some others.

One day I will dominate the world! Heeheehee…Now you know you've got a freak for an author.

And that's all for today, folks! -wink-


	12. Act 10

**_Disclaimer:_ **I do not own Princess Tutu.

"Yay! Another chapter!" At least - I hope that's what you think, and not "Boohoo...can't she just kill them all off already?"

Sorry for the slow updates. Been buuuussssyyyyy as a bee. Oh yea...forget that site I was making...I'll put it up when I'm 40. Right now all the material is on a CD. Nah...I just have to reinstall some software..(snore)..waaaaah.

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They both pulled away as soon as they recovered from Fakir's forward act. "You idiot!" yelled Fakir. "Why didn't you just wrench open the cage in the first place instead of going through the whole track she made for you?!"

"It's not my fault I didn't know how to use my powers properly," retorted Ahiru hotly. "I'm not Princess Tutu anymore, this is just a dress with powers."

"Stupid! It's not the dress that has powers, it's you!"

"Whatever!"

They both turned and saw that Lillie and Pique were lying on the ground unconscious in their original forms. Two necklaces lay beside them, and both of the stones in the necklaces - one green and one purple - had shattered.

Fakir folded his arms.

"Hmmph!" said Ahiru. "What are we supposed to do about Femio now? She still has him."

"Who cares about that idiot! He's probably happier with her than he's ever been."

"She might do something to him!"

"So now you care about him?" Fakir glared at her.

"What's wrong with you?!" she screamed and marched over to Lillie and Pique. Ignoring Fakir, she summoned her magic and transported them back to their dormitory rooms. Then she picked up the broken necklaces and examined them. "Why didn't Aotoa just give me a necklace too? I can't keep this necklace when I transform into Ahiru," she said, feeling her own necklace. Silently she turned back into her normal girl form. Then with all her might, she tossed the necklaces far away.

The class bell.

Fakir swore. "The play-"

They both started off at a run for school. They both got there just in time to join the line of ballet dancers and receive a stiff nod from Nero-sensei. Suddenly Nero sensei's face grew ten times its size as he towered over both of them. "You don't look like you slept at all," he said threateningly. "If you make a mistake you will have to m-m-m-marry-"

"Even me?" said Fakir looking blankly at him.

Nero-sensei deflated and retreated to a corner.

Everyone participating in the play began to get ready and put on their outfits. Ahiru hastily tried to conceal a bruise on her knee that she'd gotten from earlier and stuck a piece of skin tone colored cloth on her skin with tape. Then she tied her braids up around her head and put on the crown. _I wonder if it would be easier to transform into Princess Tutu for this,_ she thought. _The outfit would definitely be more genuine-looking. Well never mind. I'm too exhausted to transform again._

"Ahiru. Are you alright, zura?" said a concerned voice.

"Uzura? What are you doing here?"

Uzura hugged Ahiru's knees (since Uzura only reaches up so far) and tapped on her drum. "I came to watch you. No one came home yesterday, zura."

"Sorry."

Uzura marched off into the crowd, hitting her drum as loud as she could. Soon after she'd left, Fakir came. His face looked worried.

"Something happened to Kumi-san who was playing Princess Kraehe, so they replaced her with Karmen."

"Is she alright?" asked Ahiru.

"I don't know. It looked like someone had knocked her out." He looked at her, and the same thoughts rushed through both of their minds.

"Karmen…" Ahiru said.

"We don't know for sure. But just be careful on stage."

---

The whole school had gathered outside to watch the play of the Prince and the Raven. A huge stage had been erected on the school court, and hundreds of cushions placed on the ground for the audience to sit on. Nero-sensei first walked out onto the front of the stage, rubbing his bowtie proudly.

"Ahem." Silence. "Today we have gathered here for the beautiful tale of the Prince and the Raven…" Nero-sensei's voice droned on and on, occasionally bringing up the unrelated topic of marriage and love.

Ahiru and the other ballet dancers stood nervously behind the closed red curtains, in their positions.

"And now we will begin!" Music started, and the curtains were raised, revealing the dancers.

It was quite a long play, and it lasted two hours. Nero-sensei had taken out several scenes from the book, but overall it ran smoothly. When it came to the part where Kraehe shamed Ahiru and tied her up with cords, the patch of cloth that concealed Ahiru's bruise fell off, and the audience gasped. It was a good effect, since it looked like her skin had come off when the cord slashed it. Karmen held the cords so tight that it hurt like the real thing.

Finally when the play was over, the dancers bowed together and left the stage. The audience roared with approval and clapped very loudly. Amongst them, Ahiru could hear someone vigorously banging on a drum.

"Very well done," said Nero-sensei, coming into the ballet room, where dancers were taking off makeup and changing behind temporary screens. "Ahiru. I felt so emotional when your skin came off! Wonderful improvising."

"I thought it looked like a clumsy accident," mumbled Fakir.

"I did it on purpose!" shouted Ahiru, getting upset. "I improvised on my own."

"Oh really? That bruise doesn't look like makeup."

Ahiru glared.

"Are you alright?" he whispered.

"No thanks to you!" Ahiru left the room, nearly bumping into Uzura. "Come, Uzura!" she scooted Uzura out.

Once Ahiru had left Uzura with Charon, she went back to her own dormitory, wishing to just flop on her bed. As she passed Pique and Lillie's rooms, she wondered if they were alright. She entered her own room and sighed.

"AHIRU!" cried two voices. Ahiru groaned inwardly.

"How was the play? We missed it! We decided to throw a celebration party for you here instead!"

"Where were you guys?" Ahiru pretended not to know.

"We?" Pique and Lillie both made a face. "I don't know," said Lillie. "I think I was asleep all night. I can't remember doing anything."

Ahiru gave a sigh of relief. "Last night you told me you were going straight back to the dorm to sleep, because you were tired," she said. "But I didn't think you'd sleep so long!"

"It's a good thing the play was today, or Nero-sensei would be really mad we missed class," said Pique.

"Yeah."

"Ahiru! Someone from the audience said you did really well and the effects were really good!" cried Lillie, changing the subject.

"Yep. I improvised." Ahiru grinned.

"Really?"

And that was how the three girls happily spent their evening partying. Ahiru didn't even have time to think about the kiss Fakir had given her.

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Stay tuned for the next episode!

Yippeee I love this chapter for some reason! Soo tired T.T...Been too busy...(random ramblings) Festival yesterday...my job as supervisor and making sure everything ran smoothly...sigh...my feet ache.


	13. Act 11

**_Disclaimer:_** I do not own Princess Tutu, I never will, I never can, and I never should, because I'm such a terrible writer that I should be hanged.

My dearest readers, please let me apologize over and over and over!! I didn't update for so long, number 1 because I got choked up when I was thinking of this next chapter, and wondering what else to make them do before I ended my little story. Number 2, because I was very, very, sick for two weeks. So please accept my apologies!

Next, allow me to thank Teresa Kaiju for her wonderful review on Chapter 6, where she pointed out that Fakir hasn't made use of his skill of being able to turn stories into reality. Please accept my apologies for that also, for I TOTALLY FORGOT ABOUT IT!!! Waaaaaaaaah...I had it in mind when I thought of my plot for this story, but midway forgot about it. Anyway, it's not too late yet, so I'm still safe :D.

Ain't it wonderful to be a Princess Tutu fan? (Psst, please totally forget about that website I was making. I made a few pages, and haven't gotten down to it since. One day a miracle might happen and I'll finish it, and probably edit my last chapter to give you guys a link. But for now, it's gone bye-bye. Sorry guys if I ever forgot about writing about something additional, or disappointed you with this story. Thank you again for staying with me this far! Now for the stoooory! Finale coming up! (FINALLY) Finale, get it? Ughuuuu I'm bad at jokes T.T

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Ahiru woke up just as the class bell rung. "What?! I slept so late?!" she wailed and grabbed her bags. On the way to class she collided with Fakir and they both fell.

They both arrived breathless at class and waited for Nero-sensei to glare at them, but he didn't. Instead he ignored them and walked past the students, lecturing them on how great ballet was. Finally he stopped talking and stood in the middle of the room. "I have decided to put Ahiru-san in the special class," he announced.

Everyone gasped.

"But if Ahiru-san is one minute late again," continued Nero-sensei, "I will put her back in the training class."

Ahiru's eyes widened to the width of a saucer.

"Everyone, please congratulate Ahiru on joining the special class," said Nero-sensei happily and smiled warmly at Ahiru.

Slowly, everyone began applauding. The girl Andria-san who had been kicked out of special class to make way for Ahiru, glared at her, and left the room. As the applause died down, Nero-sensei stood erect and assumed a very dignified face.

"There is one more," he said as everyone grew silent and all eyes turned towards him. "Kumi-san will be taken out of the special class," he said as there were gasps all around, "and in her place I will put Karmen-san." Everyone was so surprised they just stared at him with open mouths. No one liked Karmen. They all thought she was a very odd girl, who never talked and just walked around school with a cold attitude. However, someone started clapping happily. It was Ahiru.

"Karmen-chan!" she cried, and ran over to clasp Karmen's hands. "Congratulations! I'm so happy for you! We're going to be in the same class!"

Karmen wrinkled her nose. "How wonderful. Stay out of my way from now on."

A hand grabbed Ahiru's arm and pulled her into the crowd. "Be quiet, you idiot. Don't cause anymore trouble. She's not pleased with you, as you can see," whispered Fakir into her ear, before he released her and pushed her away.

Ahiru scowled. "Let's have a celebration party for Karmen!" she shouted amongst the talking ballet students.

"Ahiruuuuu! Come on! We have another party to celebrate for you!" cried Pique and Lillie, grabbing her arms. Everyone was totally ignoring Karmen.

"No! I forgot something in the classroom! Let me go back for a minute!" Ahiru wailed as they dragged her outside. _I don't want to go back and have another party!_ "Please! Let me go get it!" She struggled as much as she could.

"Fine, fine! Since you want it that bad. But hurry up and come back so we can party!" Pique and Lillie let her go at once.

Relieved not to have her arms feel like they were being pulled off, Ahiru sprinted back towards the ballet classroom, planning to escape behind the school. As soon as she reached the building, she looked back to see if Pique and Lillie were watching. Then she ran around the building and sank down against the wall. _So tired, _she thought. Ahiru hadn't gotten much sleep since the night before the play.

"Tired?"

"Of having to put up with you," she retorted and looked up. "Oh, Femio-sama! It's you!"

Femio smirked. "My presence is such a treat that no one dares to acknowledge it might be the wonderful Femio-sama coming to visit them." He paused and switched to a different tone of voice. "Ahiru! Please save me from Princess Lucille! She is so evil! My beauty will wither if I surround myself with her raven feathers any longer!"

"You seem pretty fine right now," Ahiru remarked, raising an eyebrow.

"If I don't go back to her soon, she has threatened to do something horrible to my beauty! Oh what a sin, what a sin to have this beauty!"

"So if you don't go back she'll do something to your beauty, and if you do go back it'll happen anyway?"

Femio-sama cleared his throat. "Yes! Please come save me!"

"How?"

"Come to the lake at dusk. Princess Lucille won't know a thing! She'll be sleeping under a tree. Take the necklace off her neck, and you'll have conquered her!" Then Femio ran off.

Ahiru stared after him for some time, wondering what it all meant. Something behind her emerged from the shadows. Ahiru stiffened and turned around, but it was only Fakir.

"We should look for the story-maker," he said. "We've been distracted by Princess Lucille too much. Ignore Femio, and come search for it with me." He took Ahiru's hand and dragged her off to town.

As they walked and searched, Fakir said to Ahiru, "Don't try to make friends with Karmen. It'll disrupt the story Aotoa's trying to write. A lot of this is his doing."

"Did you search the library properly? It was where you found him right?" Ahiru asked, changing the subject.

Fakir paled. "The library…" he muttered and turned away.

"Well? It's probably where we'll find it."

"I fan't mo back there," Fakir said, with a muffled voice because he'd covered his face with his hands to hide it.

"I'm sure someone's already found the body and buried it or something," said Ahiru. "Come on! We have to find the story-maker or this is just going to go on and on."

Fakir said nothing as she pulled him to the library. She was just about to enter it when they both heard someone calling them. They both stood patiently in front of the library doors as a small figure in the distance got bigger and bigger as it approached them.

"What's wrong, Uzura?" asked Ahiru as the little girl panted for breath when she'd reached them.

"I know where the -"

"Hey, you! What are you doing?" someone interrupted Uzura.

"STOP!" yelled Ahiru. "Rewind and take it step by step! There's too many things happening at once! Fakir and I are about to go into the library, and Uzura interrupts us, then some old man interrupts - oh it's you." Everyone ignored her.

"What are you doing?" repeated the old man, who'd arrived in front of them. "When I said search for the story-maker and help us defeat Aotoa, I meant him," he pointed at Fakir. "You! You should be using your gift to be able to make stories become reality. Fight Aotoa's story!"

Fakir froze.

"You know what you should do, don't you? We talked about this before," said the old man.

"What?! What's Fakir supposed to do?" cried Ahiru. "You talked to him?!"

Fakir nodded.

"You can never fight Aotoa if you don't," said the old man. "Your power would not be strong enough."

"What's Fakir supposed to do?"

"Kill himself."

"What?!" cried Ahiru and turned to Fakir.

Fakir looked away.

"Sacrifices have to be made if you want to -" the old man started.

"No! I'll never let you do it!" Ahiru screamed. "We're supposed to find the story-maker together and destroy it!"

"That's too time consuming. By the time you ever find the story-maker - that is, if you ever do, Aotoa will have gotten impatient, and killed off a bunch of villagers. He's so powerful. We can't detect Drosselmeyer's presence in this story at all anymore, which means Aotoa managed to erase him. Only Fakir can fight him with his power." The old man paused for breath. "And after Aotoa is defeated, Fakir can watch over this town with his power, also."

Ahiru began to cry. "Please don't!" she stuttered, turning to Fakir again. He didn't look at her.

"AHIRU!" screamed Uzura. "I KNOW WHERE IT IS, zura!"

"Where what is?"

"The story-maker, zura!"

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Stay tuned for the Final Episode, zura!

Thank you for reading up to here. I'm sooooo sorry if my story didn't please you T.T I hope all of you have enjoyed it at least a little bit.


	14. Final Act

**_Disclaimer:_** I do not own Princess Tutu.

Alright, guys! This is it. The ending. The final act. Or in latin: _fine_. Finally I decided to finish it off. Well, sort of. You'll see. Sooo...Thank you all for the lovely inspiring and helpful comments! They helped me a lot in this story. Oh, and I think I WILL be working on that website. I got really inspired when I wrote this final act, and I will be adding pages to my site soon. Hopefully, LOL. The link is www(dot)freewebs(dot)com(slash)kinkantown . I don't have much up yet, unfortunately. So have fun ya'll, and see you next time!

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Three people marched across the grass, casting long shadows in the setting orange sun. One, banging on her drum, led the way, running to keep up with the long strides of the other two, so she wouldn't fall back and get trampled on.

Ahead of them, Princess Lucille was lying in the shade of a tree by the lake, both eyes closed, a sweet and obviously fake smile plastered on her face. All three marching people passed by her, and made their way to the other side of the lake. When she realized no one was going near her, Princess Lucille's smile turned to an expression of horror. "What are you doing?" she shouted, and springing up, hurried after them.

"Putting an end to this," said Ahiru. They all stopped at the banks of the lake. "Are you sure it's in there?" she whispered to Uzura.

Uzura nodded. "Edel-san told me so in my dream."

Fakir rolled his eyes. "That's convincing," he muttered, but didn't press the topic.

"I'll go in and destroy it. I'll probably be able to hold my breath longer than any of you, since I'm a duck," Ahiru said quietly. She didn't add that she would probably also turn back into a duck while underwater.

They stood at the edge of the lake and looked down into the water. Princess Lucille was screeching something unintelligible, and was hurrying towards them with a mad look on her bird-like face.

"Goodbye, Fakir," Ahiru whispered, as tears welled up in her eyes. Before Fakir could say anything, she pressed her lips to his, and dived into the lake.

She saw it, a wooden piece of machinery, writing into the sand at the bottom of the lake. Ahiru pushed herself downwards and grasped hold of it, tugging as hard as she could to try and pull it apart. Finally the wood snapped, and it stopped whirring. Done with the job, she pushed herself upwards towards the faces bending over the surface of the water.

When Ahiru reached the top, she ruffled her feathers, only to find that she had none. She had two arms, two legs and a pair of hands and feet - she of course had a body too. Looking around, she saw that Princess Lucille had turned into a bewildered Karmen, and all of the members of those who stop stories from becoming reality surrounded her with pleased expressions. Fakir ran towards her with tears in his eyes. "Don't scare me like that, stupid," he whispered, and hugged her. "I love you."

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**Epilogue**

"Rue? Where are you? We're supposed to leave for that meeting in ten minutes," Mytho called, striding towards his wife's favorite room to hang out in. It was a big drawing room filled with luxurious couches and vast windows showing the beautiful scenery of their kingdom. Just looking out of one of these windows made you feel like you could soar out into the sky on a pair of wings. Mytho figured that Rue still had a lot of crow personality in her, and that was why she loved to spend time in that room.

Mytho entered the room and froze. Some black feathers lay scattered on the floor in front of a red chair.

"We meet again, Prince," said a smug voice. Outside one of the windows a bird was frozen in the air, his wings motionless in flight.

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Yeah, and that's pretty much it. I left room to pick up if I ever want to start another season, and I'm really happy with how it ended, though it may seem a bit abrupt. 

Thanks for reading!


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